Tuesday 16 October 2012

Steven Gerrard has welcomed the introduction of the Football Association’s code of conduct for England players, with the national team captain insisting his colleagues now have no excuse for misbehaving, according to the BBC.

The FA announced the implementation of the code of conduct in the wake of Ashley Cole’s Twitter outburst, as the Chelsea defender used an expletive to describe the members of the governing body. The code was, however, long-planned before that, with consultation between the relevant parties dating back months.

As well as Cole’s outburst, the case of John Terry was a driving factor of the thought process behind the code, the BBC adds. Terry was charged with and later acquitted over an allegation of a racially motivated public order offence for an incident involving Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand. The FA persisted with their own separate sanction of Terry even after he was cleared in court, leading to the Chelsea captain’s retirement from international football, and a four-game ban and fine.

Gerrard added that as well as improving the reputation of England’s footballers, the code of conduct is intended to divert attention back onto events on the pitch. The Liverpool and England skipper added: “We had a meeting at St George's Park last week and have the code of conduct in writing. We know we have to behave and there is no excuse any more. It's about focusing on getting things right on the pitch.”

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